After a couple of months of winter behind us, I'm sure creative children (or parents) have been using their wax crayons intensively, and there will be a couple of those awkward bits of crayons lying around which are no longer comfortable to draw with. But don't throw them away! They can be reused by melting them down, either directly onto paper to make an interesting design (using a hairdryer) or by melting several pieces into a mold to create new crayons in fun shapes, such as hearts or stars. It's a fun project to do together with your children. But be careful, as these are projects that require heat, so it is important that an adult does them together with the kids.
MATERIAL NEEDED:
To make recycled crayons you will need:
- Pieces of wax crayons (single color, similar colors, or mixed colors... it's up to you).
- A baking form, preferably silicone (they are easier to unmold), in the shape you like best. Preferably use a small shape as it will be easier to get the amount of crayon pieces you need to make the new shape.
- An oven
STEPS: The steps to follow are very simple:
1: Gather the pieces of wax crayons you have in little pieces, it doesn't matter if they are old or of different brands, the important thing is to gather all those pieces that will help us to create new crayons.
2: Remove ALL the paper from the crayons. Be careful to remove it all because it can catch fire in the oven. Some crayons have paper that sticks very tightly. Here again, you have to help your child and remove the paper with a carrot peeler or something similar.
3: As with cake recipes, it helps to preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 15 minutes.
4: Now break the crayons into small pieces, leaving them about 1 and a half cm long. It doesn't have to be perfect. If you prefer, you can grate it with a carrot grater.
5: Here you have 2 options: a) separate by colors or b) make color combinations. It's up to you.
6: Fill the baking forms with the pieces and put them in the preheated oven.
7: Bake for 15 minutes (it is important not to bake them too long or the color pigment may separate from the wax.
8. When you take them out of the oven, let them cool completely. It is best to leave them overnight and remove from the form the next day, or put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
9. Ready, you can remove from the form the new crayons.
10: let's paint!
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